Collage has @MoneyLynch pic offer with closeup of pic (upper right) and shot of espn story on fine (lower right) https://t.co/bTOOv9n55I
— Mike Sando, ESPN.com (@SandoESPN) January 25, 2015
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The NFL has a history of making money off acts on the field that the league claims to condemn. For example, when the NFL was scrambling to remove helmet-to-helmet hits from some facets of the sport, there were instances when the NFL was caught selling photos of defenders making what were determined to be illegal hits.
On Sunday, ESPN football writer Mike Sando discovered that NFLShop was selling a $150 commemorative plaque celebrating the Seahawks NFC Championship victory that featured a photo of Marshawn Lynch grabbing his junk. Lynch has twice been fined this season for yanking on his dick as he went into the end zone. Rampant Ballghazi jokes aside, the NFL claims to have no tolerance for drawing attention to one’s genitals.
Now that someone has pointed out the hypocrisy, an NFL spokesman has very solemnly saying that selling the plaque was wrong, wrong, wrong.
A collage that featured a photo of Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch grabbing his crotch after scoring a touchdown in last Sunday’s NFC Championship Game should not have been for sale on the league’s official website store, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said.
A link to a 20-by-24-inch framed collage, which featured five photos from the game and cost $150, currently shows it is “out of stock,” but McCarthy said it won’t be sold.
“Any play that results in a fine may not be used commercially,” McCarthy said.
Oh, it may not? Then what punishment does the NFL face for doing it? I’m surprised the league isn’t announcing sanctions for any fans who might have purchased the plaque before it got pulled from the shop.